How to Write 垤 (dié) — Meaning “anthill; small mound”

Imagine ants 'arriving' (至) at a pile of 'earth' (土) to build their home, forming an anthill. This picture links the two parts to the meaning of a small mound. The visual of ants arriving at earth helps you recall that 垤 means 'anthill' or 'small mound'.

Write the left radical 土 first: horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Then write the right part 至: start with a short horizontal, then a dot (or a little stroke), then another horizontal, a vertical, and finally two horizontal lines at the bottom. A common mistake is making the right side's two bottom horizontal lines too far apart — keep them close together, like a small pile.

垤 has the right side 至, which is more complex with multiple horizontal strokes, while 圻 has 斤 (jīn, 'axe') on the right. 圼 has 日 (rì, 'sun') on the right and is extremely rare. Their meanings differ: 垤 refers to a small mound or anthill, 圻 means a border or boundary, and 圼 is an ancient character for a kind of dirt mound.

垤 is very rare in modern everyday Chinese and is not part of the HSK vocabulary. You might see it in classical texts or poetry describing nature, often in the word 蚁垤 (yǐ dié, 'anthill') or 丘垤 (qiū dié, 'small mound'). It can also appear in formal descriptions of landscapes or ant nests.

Common words containing 垤 include: 蚁垤 (yǐ dié) — Anthill; 丘垤 (qiū dié) — small mound; anthill; 垤穴 (dié xué) — ant hole.